Durban — The Federated Hospitality Association of South Africa (Fedhasa) said one good season would not resolve the three years’ debt burn and financial losses in the tourism industry.
This comes after the Tourism KwaZulu-Natal (TKZN) statistics revealed that the province received a R2.4-billion boost during the festive season.
TKZN said preliminary figures show KZN’s occupancy rate from December 26, 2022, to January 1, 2023, soared to an average of 81% across the province against an early forecast for an average provincial occupancy rate of 69% at the peak of the holiday season.
Brett Tungay, Fedhasa East Coast chairperson, said they concurred that the figures were a lot better for the festive season than was the forecast.
Tungay said looking back at the many issues of Covid-19 and April floods that troubled the province, it was “good to have a good season”.
“In general, we are glad and cannot complain. We are still part of the way of 2019 figures. We have noticed that the upper market, your 4 or 5 star, has recovered quite nicely and is doing very well. But the lower markets, below 4 star, are still battling in most areas and the figures are still low, that’s where the biggest recuperation is awaited and we are not seeing it.
“Your foreign market is definitely back and your big game reserve is seeing those numbers coming back.”
Tungay said the self-drive market still had a long way to go to recover, adding that the damage caused by the pandemic on the middle class was showing in the figures.
“We have to remember that these are the preliminary figures and we still have to wait for the figures to come from Stats SA, which will be the official figures. We are hoping to get those in the next month. That should put a bit of a different spin on things.
“The tourism industry is far from being out of the woods. If you look at the latest business insolvency figures, they are still huge. An unprecedented number of tourism businesses are still going insolvent, unfortunately.”
KZN Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs MEC Siboniso Duma said 520 000 domestic tourists and 51 000 international tourists provided a R2.4bn injection to the provincial economy (provincial gross domestic product).
He said in early December, they projected an estimated 760 000 domestic trips and 58 000 international visitors over the entire summer season.
“It’s pleasing the province’s districts beat festive season expectations, as this indicates holidaymakers took time to explore other experiences offered across the region,” TKZN acting chief executive Nhlanhla Khumalo said.
“Along with Blue Flag beaches on the South Coast and North Coast, the province has an array of excellent tourist destinations from the Drakensberg to Big Five safaris. The sharp increase in occupancies in the week from Christmas to New Year, particularly in the northern and southern KZN districts, suggests our message hit home. The opening of popular beaches during December and uMhlanga beach on December 23 may also have encouraged last-minute holiday bookings,” Khumalo said.
Daily News